Detroit Pistons: Who should participate in All-Star Weekend?
By Amaar Burton
Rising Stars Challenge: Luke Kennard, Bruce Brown Jr.
One might think that a lottery pick from the biggest brand name in college basketball who plays for a big-market NBA team would be an easy choice for the Rising Stars Challenge roster, but that was not the case for Luke Kennard.
Kennard was drafted No. 12 out of Duke last season, and his rookie run with the Pistons wasn’t all the way bad (7.6 points per game, 41.5 percent 3-point shooting). He was not, however, part of the Rising Stars Challenge pitting the league’s top rookies and second-year players against each other. In what has become the narrative of his pro career so far, Kennard was overshadowed by players who were drafted after him, most notably by No. 13 pick Donovan Mitchell.
With Kennard’s numbers having gone down in Year 2 — he’s averaging 7.1 points and shooting 35.5 percent on 3-pointers — and a solid crop of young guards with whom he’s in competition against, he’s not in any better position to get a Rising Stars invite.
Why even have Kennard on the Pistons? He comes off the bench behind the immortal Bruce Brown, loses minutes to the dinosaur Jose Calderon, and never gets shots when Blake is on the court. CANNOT UNDERSTAND CASEY!!!
— Michael Koenemann (@MichaelKoeneman) January 8, 2019
Kennard even has stiff competition from his own team. Brown, a second round pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, doesn’t have stats that will catch anyone’s eye (5.1 points per game). The shooting guard out of Miami has been a regular in Detroit’s starting lineup, however, becoming a part-time starter due to his defensive prowess.
Brown and Kennard are both long shots to make the Rising Stars roster. Kennard has a bit more name recognition, but Brown has been the more valuable player for the Pistons. It’s unlikely either one will make the cut.